Ottawa ponders western LRT route

Ottawa city officials continue to weigh four options for routing light rail transit through the western portion of the city, including consideration of citizen input along each route option.

Three routes traverse a former streetcar right-of-way, while a fourth, running through Ottawa River Parkway, is the cheapest to build at C$562 million. But that route is opposed by the National Capitol Commission, overseeing land use in the Canadian national capital.

All four routes serve Ottawa's Westboro neighborhood.

The city council's transportation committee was expected Wednesday to receive an interim environmental assessment report on extending LRT west after the C$2.1 billion eastern portion of the LRT route is complete in 2018.

Last November Ottawa issued a Request for Proposals to three companies qualifying under a "short list" for bidding: Ottawa Transit Partners, led by Vinci Concessions; Rideau Transit Group, led by ACS Infrastructure Canada Inc.; and Rideau Transit Partners, led by Bouygues Travaux Publics S.A.

Ottawa has tapped Infrastructure Ontario as the "commercial procurement lead" for the project. Infrastructure Ontario also is involved with LRT projects in Toronto and the Waterloo region, west of Toronto.